Truman Days 2008 - Day 2

Oh, but it is good to be a Democrat! Oh, my, yes. Last night was the banquet, and the evening started off with a wine-and-cheese reception hosted by Mike Sanders, who was our host and master of ceremonies for the weekends festivities, and he is well suited for it. He is charming and witty and thinks on his feet. He gives a good speech and engages the public and one of these days we are going to share him with the state, cause he is just that good. We owe our out-state brethren the opportunity to be represented by this guy.

We heard speeches by State Auditor Susan Montee, Senator Claire McCaskill, Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, and Jesse Jackson Jr.

Every speaker was excellent and I heard some words I wanted to hear from Claire. As you know if you read me, I have been mad as hell at her since August, and every bit of my anger is over telecom immunity. In the view of this civil libertarian and long-standing card-carrying member of the ACLU, that is a betrayal I can not reconcile.

In her speech she acknowledged that the Democratic Party is messy and prone to squabbling amongst ourselves, and that there are times we don't like one another. What I read between the lines of her speech was "I know I am polling at 30% disapproval among Missouri Democrats and I've pissed a lot of you off. "

Yes, she certainly has. But the thing is, I will let her out of the box if she starts acting like Harry Truman, who defined the oeuvre of the hell-raisin' Missouri Democrat when he occupied that seat. If she stops acting like a blue-dog and tells Jay Rockefeller to go fuck himself, her constituents are overwhelmingly against telecom immunity, and he should accompany her on a trip back home and meet some of us if he thinks that she won't pay a terrible price for taking his position, that would go a long, long way. Other than that one issue, she has been just fine. Here's hoping I didn't hear her speech through a rose-colored filter, hearing what I wanted to hear.

My congressman, Emanuel Cleaver II.


Claire and Kay Barnes. I will likely start spending more time in the northern tier so I can vote in the Sixth in November. EC is safe. He has no primary challenger and we don't have any republicans in the 5th. We are still a Democratic town, but they tell me the "machine" was busted up decades ago - however, I have seen no evidence of this.


DNC Member and KC Councilwoman Melba Curls, engaged in conversation with Kay Barnes.


Kay and Mike Sanders catch up at the reception before the banquet.


Claire McCaskill and "Ruckette" Mary O'Halloran - who is as much fun in person as she is when she is on the verge of jumping out of her chair and throttling Woody Kozad his chair on the set.


Claire, EC and Kay. I want this picture to be the norm once Kay is elected. That will flip Missouri back to blue, you know. Right now our congressional delegation is as evenly split as it can possibly be using whole numbers. Our Senate delegation is one of each and the house is five/four with the advantage to the republicans. That will reverse in less than 180 days, when Kay is elected! (At the Blue Girl blog, there will be an Act Blue link for Kay in the sidebar for the duration of the campaign - Graves has a lot of out-of-state and PAC money. Every penny counts.)

Overall, the weekend was a success, and a blast and I am already looking forward to next year! I will attend this function every year for the rest of my life, because I am a true, Truman Democrat, and I have the good fortune to have generations of history and a sense of place that is rooted in the soil of the northern tier counties of this state.

We are going forward and we are going to win in November. We are going to take back the Governor's mansion, and we are going to take back at least one chamber of the statehouse. We are going to elect Kay Barnes and we are going to retain the Secretary of State's office, and we have a deep bench for Attorney Generals race (Jeff Harris, Margaret Donnelly, and Chris Koster) and meanwhile I can't even tell you who is running in the republican primary for that office.

And I can't close this post without thanking Senators Koster and Victor Callahan. They used parliamentary procedure and ran out the clock on the session, and in so doing, they strangled Rosemary's Baby - the proof-of-citizenship-to-vote amendment to the state Constitution - in it's crib.

A lot of Democrats have given Koster a hard time since he switched parties last year, and I started cringing soon after - don't we want the Missouri republicans with some common sense and decency to have that "come to Harry" moment? I sure as hell do!

Chris gets full marks from me for his clever application of the rules on Thursday and Friday. I won't have any problem marking my ballot for him when his name appears. I told him last night when we were talking before the banquet that the way I understood it, he was the last person to realize he was a Democrat, and he laughed and said he has heard that and it's quite possibly true.

Let's get busy, Missouri, and start growing the grassroots (this is where DFA comes in...) and let's elect Democrats all the way down the ticket in November.

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Lest anyone misunderstand...

Let's discuss Mayor (congress is only national) Cleaver's remarks in a Canadian public radio interview, before some ridiculous, hyperventilating chucklehead paints the most decent human being in Congress with the racist brush that has been slopping paint and making a hell of a mess these past weeks.

Mr. Cleaver is a Hillary supporter and superdelegate, and in the interview he reveals just how shaky the support for Senator Clinton is among black superdelegates.

"If I had to make a prediction right now, I'd say Barack Obama is going to be the next president. I will be stunned if he's not the next president of the United States."

But Cleaver, who gave his word to Ms. Clinton is not backing off his support. If he did, he said "[T]here would be African-Americans cheering. But I would have difficulty shaving in the morning, unless I could shave without looking in the mirror."

What is going to fill the air with faux-outrage is what he said about Obama's oratory skills.

"He is articulate - in the black tradition, he would probably be mediocre, but in White America...For White Americans, it's like, this guy can speak," he said.

And that is what some hyperventilating jackass is going to jump on. Some idiot (not from the MO 05) is going to say that Cleaver said that because Obama is half-white, so I am going to preemptively call bullshit.

The reason I say the towering jackass sure to level that accusation won't hail from the Fifth is because in these parts, we know EC, and we have heard him speak. He can say that because he is from that "black tradition" he is speaking of.

As proof I offer this video of him speaking at an anti-war rally in Washington:



So shut up already before you even get started with any "racist" attacks and accusations about Cleaver. They will meet stiff resistance.

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Hillary Clinton in KC - October 5

Hillary Clinton came to Kansas City today for a fundraiser and to meet with faith leaders from the community. After the fundraiser, she held a press conference in the Iowa Room of the President Hotel to discuss her meeting with the local faith leaders.

She entered a few minutes late, accompanied by Missouri Congressman and AME minister Emanuel Cleaver, Jackson County Executive and state campaign co-chair Mike Sanders, and about a dozen local clergy, who stood behind her as she took questions.

Dave Helling went first and asked about her philosophical differences with the ministers…issues such as reproductive freedom and gay marriage.

The Senator handled the question ably.

She pointed out that there was a whole lot more that they can find common ground on, and we need to listen to one another and treat one another with respect.

She mentioned specific points of agreement they share, on issues such as housing, and education, and healthcare, and stopping the revolving door between the prison and the street.

The next question was asked by Mike Mahoney. He asked her about something former President Clinton said the day before - that he [Bill Clinton] would not be surprised to see former presidents asked to serve in various capacities in a Hillary Clinton administration.

And she laughed (we'll get to that in a minute) before saying "I wouldn't be surprised to see that either!"

(Keep Reading)


She gave the current occupant credit for, in the wake of the Indonesian tsunami, asking former presidents Bush and Clinton to lead American efforts there, and it improved the image of America in the eyes of Indonesians and of people throughout the region.

Dave Helling then asked if she was planning on campaigning in Missouri, and brought up the Kerry campaign (Helling mistakenly stated that Kerry did not campaign here, but he did - he pulled out of the state three weeks before the election, but he most certainly did campaign here).

"I intend to campaign vigorously in every state.I want to represent the entire country." She responded. This is her second trip to Kansas City in recent months and her third or fourth to the state.

The next question was about the torture revelations of the last couple of days, and the incumbent saying today "We do not torture."

On this she grew quite serious. We are only finding out now how far the administration has gone, and she reminded all that there was no information forthcoming until the Democrats took over in January. She did state unequivocally that no administration, no person, no president should be above the law.

That was supposed to be the last question, but she took one more, on immigration.

She didn't come close to touching the current third rail of politics. She favors the standard "comprehensive immigration reform™" that every politician and their aunts, uncles, cousins and pets espouse. In her version it involves strengthening the borders and employing technology. She did give more than perfunctory acknowledgment to the idea that helping Mexico develop their economy so people won't feel like they have no choice but to leave their homes and families and enter the U.S. illegally to better their lives.

She didn't say anything new or controversial, but she did stress that business owners employing undocumented workers are a huge part of the problem and until they are held accountable, no other efforts will be truly effective.

Overall, I had a pretty positive impression of her. She was relaxed and composed and confident. She seemed to exude competence and ability. She was charming and well spoken and didn't butcher a single sentence. Overall, she seemed downright presidential. We could certainly do worse, as the last seven years have shown us.

Now - about the laugh.

Get over it.

The laugh is real. I was just a few feet away from it a few hours ago. It is genuine and there is a twinkle in her eyes when she laughs that ya just can't fake. That laugh endears her to me on a certain level. It is the same laugh that I stopped trying to stifle the first time I heard "Freedom Fries." It is the laugh that should assault Chris Wallace's ears every time he spouts a wingnut talking point. It is the laugh that should have issued forth thirty years ago when the foam flecked loonies and assorted hypocrites started emerging from the lunatic fringe.

People stopped laughing at the assorted array of idiots, and look where it got us! For the love of all that is holy, stop acting like the wingnuts have any credibility, stop taking them seriously, and start guffawing at these idiots every time they say something stupid.

And when the Maureen Dowds and Frank Richs and various M$M chuckleheads start obsessing about the authenticity of a presidential candidates laugh instead of the substance of their message…mocking, derisive laughter directed back at them is the only appropriate response.

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I’m getting a little steamed at my Congressman

Every week, I call my Congressman and express my support for him to sign on to H.R. 333, and every week he sends me the same non-answer form-letter reply:

Thank you for contacting me regarding House Resolution 333, a bill calling for the impeachment of the Vice President. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you may know, H.Res. 333 is a resolution that calls for impeachment of the Vice President for high crimes and misdemeanors. The measure sets forth articles of impeachment charging that the Vice President has purposely: manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, to justify the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq in a manner damaging to U.S. national security interests; has openly threatened aggression against Iran absent any real threat to the United States, and has done so with the U.S. proven capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining U.S. national security.

Article II Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The power to impeach the President rests with the House of Representatives. While I certainly have very clear and deep policy and philosophical differences with the Vice President and the Administration, I believe that the Congress must focus its efforts on addressing the challenges facing us abroad and here at home. In there remain eighteen months of this Administration, my colleagues and I will be working to address the Iraq War, the War on Terrorism, and issues such as the lack of affordable healthcare, an under-funded educational system and the rise in mortgage foreclosures, to name a few.

H.Res. 333 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for further consideration. History will impeach this Administration. It will be incumbent upon this new 110^th Congress to move forward in an effective manner so as to provide real solutions to the real problems confronting our nation. You can rest assured that I am closely monitoring the Executive Branch and will keep your concerns in mind as we learn more details about the Administration's activities that may have exceeded its statutory or Constitutional authority.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I may be of further assistance. Also, I encourage you to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/cleaver, where you can sign up for my electronic newsletter and receive updates on my latest activities as your Representative.

Sincerely

Emanuel Cleaver, II

Member of Congress

Congressman, I know perfectly well what H.R. 333 entails.

What I want is a damned ANSWER. Either stand up and sign on or EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU WILL NOT!!!

I chose you, I am watching, and I am not blindly partisan. So make with an answer already, and stop insulting me with the same freakin’ form letter, over and over and over.

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